More on Love

In the entry posted on October 24^th we consider eight characteristics of love and also looked at the five love languages. Love is a topic I have thought much about during my life, trying to understand what it really is. We often say, “How are you?” and the person responds, “Fine.” That word “fine” is an empty word because you could feel like you had just been run over by a truck and you still say, “Fine.” I have the same problem with the word “love”. People will often sign a card, or a note, or something with “Love” and their name. In that context I have not been able to put any more meaning to the word love than I have to the word fine. That is why I hardly ever use the word love before my name, because I am not sure what it is supposed to mean.

As I continue to think about this I keep returning to the Bible to see if I can learn more about it. There is some evidence that there is some emotion associated with certain forms of love as indicated in the Song of Solomon. In 1 John we learn about the sacrificial aspect of love that it is willing to pay a price to benefit the character of another. The sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross, because of his love for us, provided an opportunity for us to obtain eternal life; a very clear benefit.

From Galatians 5:22 – 23 we considered the eight characteristics of love and from 1 Corinthians 13 we have the fifteen qualities of love. A few days ago I was touching up my notes for my last class, which will be on love, and I thought about a new slide that brings together both of the above mentioned verses. I wanted to show that slide and make a brief comment on it.

When I put all that information in one place and looked at it I realized all that God has given us in his love. There is so much available to us to draw upon as we encounter various aspects of life. We have been given a resource to use that the world knows so little about. The problem is we live in such a way that we don’t display the aspects of his love, as seen in the diagram, as we should in our behavior. I know I have fallen short of this in my life.

So what is love? I am coming to understand that it is a desire to sacrifice something for the benefit of another. It is behavior expressed through the characteristics of joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control that is witnessed by others. It is a lifestyle that is clothed with the qualities of love. It is a language we speak to one another that result in the feeling of being loved. It is something the world desperately needs and it is a free gift from God. We simply need to be willing to accept it and allow it to be a witness from us of God in us.

To use the word love seems then to depend on the relationship and the situation and conveys a message that is understood by those involved.